Category: Wisdom for the Weekend

Life is funny. I know what kind of lifestyle works for me when I’m at my happiest, most relaxed and inspired. It’s not rocket science. Some basic ingredients and habits executed on a daily basis typically lead to pretty amazing results. So why is it I can so quickly ditch these easy breezy things to spiral down the rabbit hole of stress, indecision, fatigue and worry? As I sit here typing this, I’m smiling and shaking my head at my silly self.

Last week I read a simple post by one of my lovely blog favorites, here about unplugging your morning. I did a quick mental run-down of my current weekday morning routine. Ready?

Alarm goes off on iPhone next to my head

Hit snooze 2-3 times depending on level of sleepiness

Turn off alarm (finally) and immediately check email (yes, while still in bed! Literally the first thing I do)

Eeeks! I get stressed just reading this nevermind actually living it. Of course I’m fatigued. No wonder I feel like I can’t take a deep breath. Literally the first welcome to my day is an onslaught of work and sale notifications for my favorite brands telling me the booties I put in my shopping cart last night are still waiting for me. When I read the simple ‘unplug your morning’ I sighed a great, deep, satisfying sigh and said okay, enough. Let’s change some things and see how it goes. I have a feeling the people I work with may be on board with this plan too.

Here’s my schedule for this week. I started yesterday, but the real test will be tomorrow morning. Ready?

Get up and turn off iPhone (now safely across the room on Airplane Mode)

While up, proceed to kitchen to make green juice (M does this religiously every am and he commutes to Tustin so I have zero excuses about time – plus I just gained 15 minutes from not hitting snooze 3 times)

Cook an egg. It takes all of 3 minutes. I did it this morning. Not a huge fan of breakfast first thing, but I’m going to try it for a week. I’m guessing my metabolism will thank me

Jump in shower

Get ready (I used to hang 3 outfits on hooks by bed ahead of time on Sundays so that’ll get re-instated)

Pour coffee in to go cup

Check emails right before I leave (to reduce temptation of checking phone at intersections)

Drive to work enjoying coffee in car (as M put it, “coffee is your dessert and reward for a good start”)

My current favorite: lemon, kiwi, banana, spinach, ginger, turmeric

Avocado toast, lime + eggs…delicious. Photo: simplegreenmoms.com

Taking more quality time in the morning to set the tone for the day can’t possibly be a bad idea.

This really works – pick some outfits on Sunday…bonus – it looks pretty!

Annnd no stress picking my outfit in the am…accessories included

I’m better after work. Recently I started writing a little each day in a journal. Even if it’s just recording a workout. It’s an unplug from the tech world. Right now, it coincides with sunset watching which, amazingly, I can do from my back yard.

Love this journal! It makes me laugh every time I grab it…

I have set a routine for consistent exercise so I have a plan. There are times in life when being free-spirited and flexible work great. But I know for right now, I’m not in that space. I need the structure. The muscle memory (both mental and physical) is there so it’ll come back. And when it does that will be a fun phase too. This phase has me feeling inspired and ready.

The irony of kicking off ‘un-plugging’ by writing a blog post when I have written one in six months isn’t lost on me 🙂 But I see it differently. Writing is cathartic. And I haven’t felt able to write or post anything because I haven’t felt like there was anything I wanted to say. At least not out loud. This post is my note to me more than anyone else. It’s a great little check when you put something out into the world to follow through. So there it is. A little love note to myself to take better care. And to enjoy the week ahead because I have a feeling I’m going to really like it.

A little Saturday morning magic

Thanks Miss GFK for the lovely little reminder that arrived at just the right time…♥

Think less, live more…what an incredible theme for the weekend. This week has been amazing, bustling and full-on. I’ve had a blast and now my brain will go happily into cruise mode for a couple of days – hopefully. One thing I’ve been really aware of in the last few days is how much love there is in the world. So here are a few things I’m really grateful for right now…

Great friends hanging at VGs

Really no need to elaborate. Great friends. Great pizza. Great beer. Great VG donuts. Topped off by smashing quarters on a railroad track and home by 9pm. Heaven.

A lovely lady who is adored by many…

My lovely friend Rachelle was in a bad cycling accident. I still don’t know all the details. But I do know it could happen to any of us. The outpouring of love and support for this wonderful lady has been incredible. My heart and prayers are with her every moment until she is up and about and laughing about silly things like the “Bachelor” being in the next room. (see happy face in the pic)

MFR, aka Rousy jogging for Frogmen

This guy. The man, the myth, the legend. Today is the day he is running around Fiesta Island for 24 hours, yes 24 hours for the Jogging for Frogmen to raise money and awareness for the 31 Heroes who gave their lives on August 6th, 2011 including his dear friend JT. Fueled by hot dogs and friends, Mike Rouse is a daily inspiration to everyone he meets. So much love.

I just washed my hair and can’t do anything with it.

For fun little pics like this with funny captions on Pinterest to wake up to on a Saturday morning that remind us to take life a little less seriously.

Back to the authentic life

Friday afternoon at Core40 with team lululemon UTC, Kim Kelly – one of my favorite people and my yummy Beaming Skinny Coolers for all! Doing things like this for work feed my soul. It’s what I’m supposed to be doing surrounded by like-minded people working for like-minded brands. Hooray!!!

Best motto ever Dr. Seuss

And something to always keep in mind as life ambles along. Now, I’m off to run with Mike Rouse, then sneak in a paddle and then who knows from there. Have a happy, happy Saturday! xxoo

Toes tell a story…otherwise known as guess what I did this weekend by checking out these random pictures of my toes in various places…

Beachy toes are happy toes. I cannot stress this enough!

M isn’t a big picture taker so I learned early on if I want the moment captured, it’s usually on me to capture it. This explains why my phone is filled with gorgeous beach views, pics of M looking handsome (or annoyed) and lots and lots and lots of shots of my toes in various shades of polish!

Morning coffee plus the final days of the Tour

I’ve come to love these pics because they are fun little queues that remind me what I was doing on a given day. I pick up on things that others don’t in these shots. For instance, this is my FAVORITE coffee mug and there’s M in his normal morning spot where we wake up, have our yummy coffee and start the day off together on the weekend. I love that.

And I repeat, beachy toes are happy toes.

Something else I discovered as I’m reviewed the feet selflies? I wear these cut-offs a lot. They are the real deal, homemade kind. You know the ones that were mediocre as jeans, but became the super star of your summer wardrobe once the scissors came out and they were washed and dryed to frayed perfection? Yeah, those. I must confess, I live in these and really do wear them almost daily. (Note both pictures above and the one below)

Backyard bliss

My Dad was in town this weekend. His favorite thing to do after a busy work week w/travel is to hang out on our backyard couch and read. Fine by us. Just add a Hinano, some John Le Carre, pipe the music through the speakers and, voila, it’s a party – albeit, a mellow one.

Happy Feet – proud Sanuk product testing!!!

For a brief 35-40 minutes the sun came out in the backyard! And to prove it, this picture came into being. Plus I was trying to illustrate to a girlfriend how happy I was about my new Sanuk flip flops by texting her this photo.

Backing up a bit, my friend, Trish, is ridiculously talented and may have one of the coolest jobs out there. (Global Product Director for Sanuk – are you kidding?) She entrusted me with the incredibly important job of product testing some new Sanuk‘s for the weekend. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it…Verdict? They have gorgeous green straps, fit my size 8 feet perfectly and were so. dang. comfy. Odds are I may be pairing them with my trusty cut-offs a lot. And yes, cut-offs are featured, just off screen.

Boots for VGs!

No, I normally don’t photograph my feet at VGs on a Saturday night. But we were in line, carefully selecting donut choices and my friend asked if I went with the boot or wedge option for my Saturday night sushi date. Rather than text out the details, I snapped a shot and there you have it, the “behind the scenes” backstory. Bored yet? Okay, sorry, I’ll wrap this up!

As the weekend wound down…sunset at the reef in the party pants

Sunday late afternoon, I dropped my Dad at the airport with big hugs and excited planning for Christmas. I then made the (normally 25 minute) trek North from the airport back home in a whopping 55 minutes of “race back to LA” traffic. Ugh. I called M on the way and told him to get his board ready so we could high tail it to the reef to enjoy the final hour of Sunday daylight. I threw on my favorite Billabong party pants, grabbed my book and a blanket and we were off. Sunday nights at the beach are magic. People head home to do their thing and you get the water and the beach pretty much to yourself. M went for a surf and I watched the sky turn pink and melted into the sand. It was a pretty cloudy sunset, but seriously no complaints here.

So there you have it! My weekend in pictures as told by my toes. Here’s one last parting shot from a while back. This was a happy lunch hour in May. If it’s sunny, this shot will be recreated at some point this week. Hope your Monday was nothing short of amazing!!! xxoo